Hasta La Gadget!

Canon has just filed a patent application for Wi-Fi-controlled flash. Using radio to communicate with a remote flash-gun, a camera could control the amount of light popped-out and automatically adjust exposure, all without wires.

Wireless off-camera flash isn’t new. Third-party boxes and dongles like the Pocket Wizards have been around for a while. While these have generally been a manual-only solution, simply triggering the light instead of offering control over its power, recent updates are creeping towards reliable full-auto setups. The problem with these is that you have to buy yet another box, and carry yet another set of batteries

The other option is that used for years by Nikon (and recently adopted by Canon). This uses the on-camera flash itself to blip coded messages via pulses of light. Using this morse-code like method in the milliseconds before the shutter fires lets the camera and flash communicate. The problem here is that you need line-of-sight for it to work.

Canon’s new solution puts an antenna in both camera and flash, and uses the 802.15.4 standard to communicate (the same tech as is used in Zigbee devices, for example). Wireless control itself can;t be patented, so Canon’s trick is to have the camera fire out a whole bunch of instructions, and have the flash know which one to pick, thus sending the correct power-output triggers to the right flash. This, according to Canon, improves reliability.

Normally we avoid patent applications, as companies tend to patent any idea their employees have, however whacked-out. This one, though, seems very likely to make it into real products. The Canon flash system is nowhere near as good as the Nikon one (many Canon camera users even buy Nikon strobes). This would be a big step forward. Your move, Nikon.

Canon Patent Application [USPTO via Photography Bay]

See Also:

• Entire Nikon 2009/ 2010 DSLR Product Roadmap Leaked
• Hands-On With the Nikon D700
• Pocket Wizard Fixes Reliability Issues With Tin-Foil Hats
• TTL 'Poverty Wizard' Flash Triggers
• CyberSync Gives Flashes a Cheap Trip

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The two-second video after the break may not seem like much — a RED EPIC S35 with a 85mm Canon lens changing its focus from a box at a distance to a hand being moved in front of the lens (“closer than close focus,” according to “Fire Chief” Jarred Land). What’s more interesting here is what was used to take the video. In the same forum thread that unveiled the footage, employees claimed it was shot using the RED Scarlet 2/3″ and provided the above pic as proof: Scarlet is above, EPIC on the bottom, and a standard pocket camera capturing the moment. Not a lot to glean from the video and no definitive update on the production schedule, but hey, take solace in knowing a Canon mount for EPIC is ready and will be therefore presumably be available when the camera does eventually find its way out the door. Video and larger version of above pic after the break.

Continue reading RED Scarlet makes surprise cameo filming EPIC’s fast focus

RED Scarlet makes surprise cameo filming EPIC’s fast focus originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know, we know — you’re practically married to your existing Razer or Logitech, but it looks like you may want to phone your lawyer and get the separation papers flowing. Canon — of all companies — has just introduced its latest critter, and it may very well be the most spectacular mousing device in the history of mousing devices. The unquestionably magical X Mark I Mouse is a wireless laser mouse underneath, but it also doubles as a fully functional calculator and a numeric keypad to boot. Bluetooth 2.0 is responsible for the connections, and the 1,200dpi sensor should please all but the most particular of users. It’ll also play nice with both OS X and Windows platforms, leaving us with an inexplicable need to handle one prior to the scheduled November launch date. Oh, the price? A paltry £39.99 / €48.99 / $63, but really, you’d pay anything those blokes asked to have one of your own.

Canon’s X Mark I Mouse triples as calculator, numeric keypad, fame attractor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve heard some Canon EOS 60D rumors before, but this one might just be the most convincing yet — the as-yet-unannounced camera recently turned up in a roadmap that wasn’t leaked but actually posted on the site of optics module manufacturer DxO. As you might have guessed, all mentions of the camera have now been removed from the site, but what was there before seemed to indicate that the 60D would be turning up in November or December (or, at least, DxO’s modules supporting it would be). Of course, there’s no details on the camera itself, but if that launch date is accurate it would line up nicely for an announcement at Photokina in September.

Canon EOS 60D turns up in DxO’s optics modules roadmap originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Accessory maker Novoflex has a new lens adapter that will let you use Nikon F-mount lenses on Canon EOS bodies. It adds one big extra over previous versions: you get a ring to control aperture on Nikon G-lenses (those without an aperture ring.)

One of the great things about the little mirrorless cameras like the Panasonic G-series, the Olympus Pens and the Sony NEXes is that their currently meager lens line-up can be supplemented by other lenses old and new, just by using an adapter. SLRs, on the other hand, are pretty much stuck with the glass that was made for them.

An adapter has a thickness, and when you put one on a lens, you move that lens away from the film (or sensor). This stops the lens focusing at infinity (and will also allow it to focus a little closer). Thus, mounting a Canon lens on a Nikon body doesn’t work so well. The mirrorless cameras already have a lot of extra space to spare, so the adapters have room to fit. Novoflex has managed to get this ring thin enough not to cause focus problems.

The new EOS/NIK-NT adapter has an integrated aperture ring so that you can still set the hole-size. As G-series lenses are controlled entirely by electronics in the camera body, they need this extra to work on a Canon camera. Thus, auto-exposure (aperture priority) will work by actually stopping down the lens. Focus will still be manual, although infinity focus is maintained. If you have lenses with aperture rings, another adapter is available.

The problem is that there are plenty of great lenses for both Canon and Nikon, so we wonder why you’d need this adapter. For quick, fun experiments it will be great, but otherwise its hard to see the point. Especially when you consider the price, a rather odd $292.99.

Novoflex Adapter Finder [Novoflex via Photography Bay]

See Also:

• Lens Adapters Put Leica, Nikon, Canon Lenses on Sony NEX
• Digi-Diana: Lomo Lens Adapter for Canon, Nikon DSLRs
• Hands-On With the Diana F Lens Adapter and Fisheye: As Bad As You …

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